


Ten Perfect Pictures to Take With Your BFF- As Shown by These Pro Athletes!

by michaelsgang



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Baseball Players, Established Relationship, M/M, Outside Point of View, Referenced Players, Romantic Comedy, Social Media Antics, This is literally that, You know those articles about lesbians being “best friends”?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2020-05-13 14:52:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19253410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/michaelsgang/pseuds/michaelsgang
Summary: When we asked the team about the pictures, all of them rushed to show the photos that didn’t make the cut. Phillies’ veteran, Claude Giroux, was the ringleader in sharing the  embarrassing (read: adorable) pictures.





	Ten Perfect Pictures to Take With Your BFF- As Shown by These Pro Athletes!

**Author's Note:**

> In my dreams, I’m a journalist for the Flyers, and I get to write nonsense like this. 
> 
> This is supposed to be light hearted and fun, no angst in my house
> 
> Also I have no idea if anyone keep track of the Phillies, but yeah they actually do hold their spring training in Clearwater, FL. I suggest googling the beach/boardwalk, it’s gorgeous.

**Ten Perfect Pictures to Take With Your BFF- As Shown by These Pro Athletes!**

By Katie Rodriguez | April 15, 2019

 

As the Phillies take on spring training in Clearwater, these teammates show that the fun is just beginning. Travis Konecny, in his third year as the Phillies’ right outfielder, shares that the idea came to him on the flight from Philadelphia to Clearwater, Florida.

 

“Patty [Patrick] and I fly together, and we saw a group of kids taking pictures [on the plane].” Konecny explains just before practice, laughing as the memory came back to him. The pair of athletes typically fly in a few weeks early to get into the mindset of training.

 

Konecny says that, “Clearwater is absolutely gorgeous- so it wasn’t hard to pick a few places for the pictures.” The pictures can be found on their Instagrams, where they split the ten picturesque scenes evenly between their accounts. The pictures range from filtered selfies with brightly colored slushies to impressive handstands on a worn deck. While Konecny claims that he isn’t one to use social media religiously, he thought the photos would be a good way to rally the fans after the devastating conclusion of last season.

 

“We literally just asked anyone to take pictures of us. Most of the time, it was a kid who took the best shots.” Patrick says during his post practice interview. The second overall pick from 2017’s draft, shows that he’s not the “all work and no play” rookie we’ve come to love. We even caught a fond smile from the center fielder as he showed the five pictures on his page. Per Patrick, we discovered that the horribly cliche captions had actually come his sisters.

 

After agreeing to their scheme, the pair turned to Patrick’s sisters for help. “They told us how we should pose. When we picked the ones we liked the best, they came up with the captions and even added the filters.” Konecny shares a few texts between him and Madison Patrick, who took a break from her college hockey to help them craft their photo shoot. The highlights of the conversation included light teasing from the oldest Patrick, and the discovery of the contact name Konecny has for her: “the best patrick.”

 

The rest of the team was kept out of the loop for most of the project; all expect shortstop Shayne Gostisbehere and his longtime girlfriend, Gina.

 

We managed to corner Gostisbehere as practice shifted to offensive work. “I was actually visiting my parents [in Fort Lauderdale] when I got a text.” The message came in around a week before the photos were realized onto the Internet. Konecny had asked whether the man was in Clearwater, and if he brought his dogs.

 

“They [three French Bulldogs] made the trip, luckily, because he [Patrick] really wanted dogs in it.” When asked about the picture where Patrick and Konecny were lounging on beach chairs with the dogs in between them, the center fielder rolled his eyes playfully. In reality, it was Gina’s idea to get the two of them with the dogs, and he was the one who pushed them to head out to the beach to get the picture. The French Bulldogs turned out to be picture perfect models, but we presume it might be because of their impressive experience with the spotlight. Their doggy parents have a pet Instagram for them, so they were more than ready to help the athletes to capture the perfect shot.

 

Of course, no summer is complete without at least one picture at a sleepover. Because both of them come from the harsh North of Canada, they were staying at a hotel, and not at a dream beach house. Gostisbehere had come in handy with letting them into his old bedroom. Per Gina, Konecny and Patrick had made the drive to Fort Lauderdale to take pictures on the beach and at the house where the shortstop grew up.

 

Adorning white bathrobes and eating pints of ice cream, the pair proved that sleepovers with your bestie are always in style.

 

“We had to shove water bottles in there to get the look perfect.” Patrick points out about their near perfect towel hats. Hilarity was ensured when Gostisbehere showed the first of many behind the scene videos. It showcased extremely puzzled looks on both of the Canadians’ faces as Gina showed them a picture of the hats. The remainder of the video was of the young couple laughing as Konecny and Patrick struggled to get their short hair in the hats.

 

“ _Oh my god, just help us._ ” Konecny and Patrick share a look as their friends dissolved into a loud fit of laughter. The hats resembled the Leaning Tower of Pisa more than the elaborate twisted hats.

 

They did eventually get the hats to work, and the final product was nothing short of amazing. If you thought that you didn’t need two professional baseball players wearing matching robes and hats _and_ eating ice cream together during their sleepover, then you’re wrong.

 

But it gets better. The pair actually did have a sleepover with the older couple. While the three men were silent with no comments, Gina came to the aid and admitted that they watched more movies, shared some juicy gossip, and got yelled at by Gostisbehere’s parents. The sleepover was “just like the ones I went to as a teen,” Gina claims.

 

“We shared a bed and everything. I don’t think I’m recovering anytime soon.” Patrick admits, his rosy cheeks making an appearance. The interview was momentarily interrupted when a glove is thrown at him. We cannot confirm nor deny if it was Konecny.

 

Like all good sleepovers, they come to an end. It wasn’t long before the two of them had to head back to their hotel and continue training and picture taking.

 

Unfortunately, they did receive some criticism after the photos were released. Known baseball commenter Don Cherry had a lot to say about the pictures.

 

“It’s disgraceful- you’ve got two grown men going around and taking pictures like teenage girls. Baseball is not about holding hands on the beach or eating ice cream.” We did a poll on Twitter on what baseball is about, and we were glad to find that a majority of people thought baseball was about having fun. We were even happier to find that there were other players around the League that supported what Konecny and Patrick were doing.

 

Third baseman for the Boston Red Sox, Brad Marchand, took to Twitter to show the Phillies some love:

 

**Brad Marchand <@Bmarch63>**

@ **PhiladelphiaPhillies**  😂😂 Can we get a book full of these??

 

A variety of players also like the idea.

 

**Alex Ovechkin <@ovi8>**

@ **PhiladelphiaPhillies** I have to print and frame))) #bestphotoshoot

 

**Ryan Johansen <@RyanJohansen19**

@ **PhiladelphiaPhillies** @ **rjosi90** Our next photo shoot? 🤔

 

Even some non-pro athletes joined in on the fun.

 

**Amy Jones <@amyjones_03>**

@ **PhiladelphiaPhillies** @ **seth_jones3** @ **Jones4Caleb** Ahem, I spy a Mother’s Day gift 😘😇

 

Needless to say, Konecny and Patrick have taken the baseball world and flipped it upside down. It’s just some innocent fun, and there’s nothing wrong with grown men taking selfies; the Internet and fans actually like some personality. More especially if it’s authentic. Konecny could not emphasize enough that this wasn’t just another publicity stunt or work from PR.

 

“He’s important to me. We just wanted to do something fun together, and then we shared it with our fans. That’s it.” Take notes, everyone, that’s a quality best friend. It’s pointless to remind everyone that this isn’t the first time that the pair have taken pictures for social media.

 

“We were each other’s dates for G’s [Giroux’s] wedding. It’s no secret that we’re close.” Patrick confirms with a no nonsense look on his face. It’s heavily supported by another behind the scenes video brought by Gostisbehere. The video shows off a gorgeous Florida sunset over the water before panning over to where Konecny stands behind Patrick, his hands holding onto the younger man’s shoulders as they appear to be in the middle of a conversation with private smiles and hushed whispers.

 

“ _The sun’s going to set before we take this picture._ ” Gostisbehere’s voice shouts over the video to interrupt the two, and receives identical icy flares. In the next second, Konecny is hoisted onto his teammate’s back, and they share a laugh as they nearly tip over into the sand. The video ends on their smiling faces.

 

When we asked the team about the pictures, all of them rushed to show the photos that didn’t make the cut. Phillies’ veteran and leader, Claude Giroux, was the ringleader in sharing the more embarrassing (read: adorable) pictures.

 

“We have a group chat and they wanted us to pick one together to post. Obviously when you give us that kind of power,” Giroux drifts off with a knowing smile while showing off his personal favorites.

 

  1. Creating a heart with their arms, despite it being a little lopsided.
  2. Riding a tandem bike. (Probably taken just before they crashed into something.)
  3. Holding hands as they run out into the water.
  4. Sitting on a towel with ridiculously large hoodies, and equally large smiles.



 

If it weren’t for the black and navy blue swim trunks, these pictures could have been mistaken for those you would find on a Vsco account. The most popular comment on the pictures had to be friends tagging each other and adding “this is us.” Konecny and Patrick hit the nail on the head with their “Summer ‘19 Photoshoot.” Hopefully the pair continue to keep the world in on their best friend activities even as the season starts.

 

—

 

Travis stares down at the article in shock, even laughing a little. That’s not- there’s no way that this is _real_. Across from him, Patty stares back at him blankly.

 

“I told you it wouldn’t work.” There’s a hint of a smile on his face, but, like, Travis can’t pay attention to anything besides the article at the moment. They spent literal weeks on this stupid thing, and it didn’t even work.

 

“You said we shared a bed! We went on a double date!” His voice sounds strangled as he shoves his phone in his boyfriend’s face. The evidence was all over their social media, how could anyone misinterpret this? He would like it if someone would list all the professional athletes that would take a picture of him and his best friend sharing a milkshake, smiling with like the world’s most obvious heart eyes? It would literally just be them.

 

Patty takes the phone and tosses it to the other side of the couch. He yells in outrage, but his boyfriend his tugging him close. Travis reluctantly cuddles with him, but huffs. The team reacted well to it, so clearly the message was received and _perceived_ properly. How had the reporters missed the boat completely?

 

“Dude, the world isn’t ready for us to come out. Everyone’s freaking out over the pictures and they think we’re best friends. Imagine the chaos when we actually properly come out. Just chill.” He rolls his eyes, but doesn’t make a move to retrieve his phone. It can wait. He’s already refreshed the google search five times, hoping to find an article that reacted differently to the pictures. If just one person thought that the pictures looked more romantic than friendly, he was going to take it and run with it. This was their way of coming out for Christ’s sake. 

 

A hand sneaks down to hold his own before Patty sighs. “We can post the other ones later.” The other ones were the photos that were actually incriminating. Pictures of them huddling close under a beach umbrella, holding hands on the boardwalk, kissing in Shayne’s backyard.

 

On a second thought, Travis wants to keep those to himself.  

**Author's Note:**

> Legend says that Claude used to mail Cherry printed pictures of him eating ice cream in rollerblades. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Free feel to leave a kudo or comment, or a lil message in my inbox @twopointroux ! I’m always looking for ships to write about for this AU


End file.
